Author Archives: hypergorilla
Sonic Fan Remix
Sonic Generations finally released last week and most of you probably don’t even care. And who’s to blame you? The last…decade maybe of Sonic games have been awful. Although, Sonic Colors was pretty good. Too bad it was only on the Wii and DS, pretty much ruining any legitimacy it might have gained. Sonic Generations however is really awesome. But that’s not what this post is about. It’s about a fan made Sonic game that I played some time ago and was disappointed because it never came to full fruition.
Back when I first heard they were doing a Sonic 4, I started to do some research to find out release dates, style, graphics, etc. and I stumbled upon the Sonic Fan Remix. After seeing only a couple of screen shots, I immediately sought out a demo. The project was being lead by Pelikan13, who has unfortunately stopped production. Despite only releasing a couple demos with a few playable stages, the fan remix was still loads better than Sega’s official Sonic 4 release. A lot of things kept that game from being a good side-scroller; the momentum in Sonic 4 felt all wrong for starters, and overall I don’t think it really recaptured the essence of its 16-bit ancestors.
Sonic Fan Remix just feels right, like putting on a pair of socks fresh out of the dryer on a cold winter day. SFR has vibrant colors, great lighting effects, weather effects like rain and wind in the trees, it has more lush backgrounds and foregrounds (though some say it’s too overpopulated with stuff), and mainly just feels more like an authentic Sonic game. Pelikan13 has said that it’s possible he may return to the game at some point in the future, but I won’t hold my breath. Like too many fan made and indie games, it will probably never see completion. I guess I understand. Making a game for free doesn’t pay the bills.
Check out the Sonic Fan Remix homepage for some screenshots and a video. Unfortunately the download link there doesn’t work anymore. A lot of hosting sites I’ve seen have taken down the demo, but it’s still accessible on fileplanet and various other sites. But here’s a favor. I’ve got the link directly to the download right here. This is the most complete version I’ve seen. It’s got 3 stages in the Emerald Hill Zone, the first zone from Sonic 2. There’s also a less complete demo of the Chemical Plant Zone which you can download here. Both are executable files with nothing to install. So take a few minutes and enjoy the demos and if you like them, let Pelikan13 know. Maybe with a big enough push we can see a complete remake.
Just Can’t Quit Dark Souls
Sorry I haven’t written a post in a couple weeks but I’ve been having relationship issues with Dark Souls. It feels as if this is a very one sided affair; I’ve been giving all of myself and I really do love Dark Souls, but I don’t think my feelings are being reciprocated. I’m pretty certain Dark Souls hates me, but I just can’t stay away. I had a fling with Dark Souls older sibling, Demon’s Souls, a few years ago and it didn’t end well. I should have known that their abusive behavior runs in the family. Serves me right I suppose. But sometimes I think, “Maybe it’s not Dark Souls, maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m the one to blame.” I first noticed there was a real problem when I picked up a TV remote in anger and almost hurled it at Dark Souls from across the room.
I even bought this self help book with the best strategies towards helping our situation.
It’s helped a little, but I’m still constantly on the defensive. Even though this guide has given me insight on what to expect from Dark Souls, I’m still timid about rounding any new corners in our relationship. Some people have told me to just call it off, that we need to part ways because all I’m doing is hurting myself, that no matter how hard I try, or how much I study Dark Souls abusive patterns, it’s only going to get worse, and no one should put themselves through this.
Maury always has these hopeless women on his show whose boyfriend/husband hits them, yells at them, belittles them, and they still say, “I know he doesn’t mean it when he hits me. He still loves me.” And I’ll be the first to say how stupid they are for staying in such a clearly harmful relationship, yet here I am, unable to walk away.
If you too have had a similar problem and need to talk about it, I’ve got open arms and a warm shoulder to cry on.
Anyway, I should have a new post up in another day or two, after I get my problems sorted out.
24 Hour Gaming Marathon for Extra-Life
October 15th has finally arrived and the 24 hour gaming marathon begins!. Anyone looking for some gaming action, feel free to join me at any point during the day on XBOX Live. Incase you didn’t know it already, my gamertag is Goresaw.
The days agenda will include, but will not be limited to:
- Street Fighter IV – I do have the arcade edition so I’m open to any challenge
- Warhammer: Space Marine – Seize ground ALL DAY unless someone sends me an invite to another game. Space Marine will be taking up the largest chunk of my day however.
- Guardian Heroes – it’s 800 points from the marketplace. One of the best brawlers from Sega Saturn. If you haven’t already downloaded this game, stop what you’re doing right now and get it and then send me an invite!
- Super Puzzle Fighter – like columns but with Street Fighter.
- Borderlands – starting at around 9 or 10pm, new game from level 1
I’m open to any challenge though, so as long as I own the game, let’s play.
New York Comic Con – Friday Oct 14
Allow me to open by saying, what the hell is wrong with Japan? A lot of things really, but let’s focus on anime right now. Anime had its own little slice of heaven up on the top floor of the convention center and that’s where you could find amazing works of art like this. I have no idea what this is supposed to be or mean or if it’s from anything, but leave it up to Japan to have hentai, boy on boy hentai, and whatever this is.
It’s been 3 years since my last comic con back in 2008 and this was my wife’s first comic con ever. I got all my gaming out at E3 so it wasn’t really on my agenda this time around, which was fine since the lines to play games were obnoxiously long. Street Fighter x Tekken was there, Mass Effect 3, Kinect games, Sonic Generations, all stuff that’s been seen already. They did have The Missing Link DLC expansion for Deus Ex: Human Revolution available, which is the only thing I regret not getting a chance to play. It’s coming out this month for $15.
Didn’t really do any “work” today so I don’t have much to report on and I didn’t really take pictures of much. This was strictly a relaxation trip. As much as one can relax surrounded by herds of mouth breathing people, having your feet stomped on, and sucking in the fumes of sweaty human meat. Basically we went there to spend some money, and spend money we did! Monica (my wife) got a vintage Ewok doll from 1984, a Walking Dead lunch box and wrist band, a Kirby hat and sticker. 
We also commissioned two personal works of art. I always wanted to know who would win in an arm cannon duel between Samus and Mega Man, so I got a picture of the duel in progress. I’m always impressed watching artists draw, especially since I have no artistic talent myself, and double especially since he drew this in like 10 minutes.
The other is this anime rendition of Monica. It’s perfect. Click on either picture to link to the artist’s website.
The name's Vader, Ken Vader.
There’s always a downside going to any con dressed up, aside from the obvious self-degradation . Yes that’s me dressed up as Ken Masters from Street Fighter. Anyway, you’re bound to have dozens of people stop you to take a picture, not that I mind having pictures taken. I’m not deluded about this, I know that merely by dressing up I’m drawing attention to myself, and I feel there’s a whole psycho-analytical argument to be made here about why people want to be noticed, but I digress. Sometimes you get like 10 pictures in a row, one right after another, and yeah it’s an act of flattery, but it interferes with your own enjoyment. I was only there for this one day and I wanted to see as much as I could! Sometimes it’s nice to go sans costume just for that reason. I lost Monica for a bit when she walked off during what could only be described as an impromptu photo shoot. Aside from the mass of people, the carpets just happened to be red and she said I got lost in the color blending. Although most cosplayers tended to either be Spider-Man, Deadpool, or from Naruto, I did run into a Ryu and Akuma so of course we had to fight to the death. I’m still alive so clearly I won.
The only things I really stopped to take time to look at were a few Gundam toys, a couple video game retail booths which really didn’t have anything special, and a bunch of awesome new Ghostbusters figures. These figures bear the real likeness of the actors and I believe thats a first for the Ghostbusters. Viggo, the Scourge of Carpathia, the Sorrow of Moldavia, stood out in particular. Did also get to see the Transformers Universe. MMO + Transformers = a great idea but I’m so never going to play another MMO again. I’ve outgrown the idea of paying $15 a month to essentially accomplish nothing and have nothing to show for it in the end. The Old Republic doesn’t count by the way because it’s made by Bioware and will at have a real immersive, character-driven narrative. So I count that as a single player RPG that also just happens to be online.
Got to hang out for a bit with my friend Michael Goodman, better known to some as InvaderBacca, who does some interesting visuals in the 8-bit genre. If you google InvaderBacca, you’ll most likely come across an assortment of art, photos, 8-bit music, and show dates.
I’d love to be there for the whole weekend but tomorrow, Oct 15 is the gaming marathon and then Sunday I’ll be more than likely passed out all day. Don’t forget to join me online tomorrow on XBOX Live, especially if you’d like a Street Fighter IV challenge.
Batman Arkham City 360 Misprint
For those of you who haven’t spotted it already, look just below Catwoman’s ass.
This is the back of the box for the Batman: Arkham City XBOX 360 Collector’s Edition. Why is this an error? Because it says it comes with an animated movie on blu-ray. I thought to myself, “How odd that the 360 would come with a blu-ray movie.” But it doesn’t. There’s really a DVD inside. This may be a minor error, but an error nonetheless. Didn’t they learn anything from the IGN logo copy and paste fiasco from the Okami Wii release?
Does this affect anyone? Is this a major life changing event? Is someone getting fired for this? Probably not and it’s all completely irrelevant. But it’s fun to point out someones irreversible publicized blunders.
If you still don’t see it, click on the image for a larger picture.
Donate for Extra-Life – FINAL WEEK
This is the final week to donate towards this fundraiser. On Oct. 15th I’ll be taking part in this marathon of gaming to help raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. Any donations are welcome. Remember, 100% of your donation goes towards charity. If you don’t think you have enough to donate, just think, even ONE DOLLAR can make a difference. And if you feel you can’t even do that, just pass this along to someone else and ask them to do it. Just click on the picture above to donate. And you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your chair to donate. Credit cards are welcome.
Ninja Senki
While I was looking up information on Wizorb, I came came across the personal blog for Pixeltao, Jonathan Lavigne, who worked on Wizorb. I noticed the GAMES tab and within only 2 were listed – Wizorb and Ninja Senki. I liked Wizorb so much, I was about ready to just buy the other game, but I didn’t have to. It’s free!
Ninja Senki is basically your classic, side-scrolling, action platformer, that came out of the 8-bit era. The game feels like what would happen if you mixed Ninja Gaiden with Mega Man. It’s got pretty much everything you would find commonplace in the genre – pitfalls, double jumps, spiky dangers, disappearing platforms, enemies that knock you out of mid air and cause you to fall to your death over and over again, and a difficulty factor that spikes rapidly as your progress. It’s got a catchy, up beat soundtrack that matches the tempo of the game. There’s really not much else to say, it’s a platformer, but it’s free and it’s fun, so go check it out. There’s nothing to install. Just download the zip file and execute.
Ninja Senki Launch Trailer from pixeltao on Vimeo.
Wizorb
Arkanoid, Alleyway, Breakout, or by whatever else you know that game, has gotten a major overhaul. Wizorb is part Breakout, Part Devil’s Crush, part RPG, all awesome. It’s a game that embodies the exact reason of why I support indie games; it’s a game of passion and not necessarily of financial gain, though I’m sure the developers wouldn’t mind making profit off it. And who are the developers exactly? Jean-François Major, Justin Cyr, and Jonathan Lavigne are the masterminds behind Wizorb, the first game developed by their recently formed Tribute Games. Jonathan’s own portfolio consists of working on a handful of games at Ubisoft, including one of my personal favorites, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game. Anyone who’s a fan of River City Ransom is totally legit in my eyes.
I only had to play this game for about 10 seconds before I knew I loved it. You all know I’m a sucker for new games made in that retro 8-bit style. I will invariably try out any game just because it looks 8-bit, but all too often they’re nothing special. Just trying to bank off my nostalgic sentimentalism of my youthful gaming. Although I would have played it for just the soundtrack alone – nothing beats a catchy chiptune soundtrack and sometimes I’ll forget I’m even playing a bad game if the music is good. But Wizorb is the total package, and what’s more, it’s not just a cleverly re-imagined game, it’s an excellent blend of arcade style gaming, story telling, and genre mashing. You play as Cyrus the wizard, master of a secret magic, the Wizorb! Using your mastery of white and black magic you must help save Gorudo from a mysterious evil threat. Acquire gold and power ups by defeating enemies and beating stages to help the villagers rebuild their homes and bring prosperity back to Gorudo.
The gameplay is broken down into basically two parts – the narrative where you talk to townspeople and set of on your quest, and then the action stages which is essentially like playing breakout. Rather than just a lifeless bar and ball however, you control the Wizorb and Cyrus’s magical wand to deflect the orb, destroying bricks and enemies. Proving that his wizardly prowess is more than just a glorified inanimate deflecting bar, your control of magic allows you to shoot fireballs from your wand, or alter the orbs course with a gust of wind. The inclusion of wandering enemies on the field was a nice touch and makes the game more dynamic. Otherwise I could have easily gotten that metronome style of deflect ball, break bricks, then repeat from many other various sources. And the far reaching goal of saving an entire town gives you more of a reason to play rather than just looking for something to do to kill some time. I would consider this a casual game like most of the ones you can find on an android or iphone, and I usually disdain casual games, but it’s that RPG element that completely elevates it above the entire genre. You may have played games like Wizorb before, but never one this well developed.
Developer: Tribute Games
Released: 09/28/2011
Official Site: Wizorb.com
Platform: XBLA – 240 MSP
FREE Zelda Four Swords
Starting today, for a limited time, Nintendo will be giving away free downloads of The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition, to anyone who owns a 3DS or DSi. This is basically the GBA version of The Four Swords, but unlike the GBA, you won’t need a link (does that count as a pun?) cable in order to play multiplayer. This promotion is part of Nintendo’s celebration of Zelda’s 25th anniversary and will be running from 9/28/2011 – 02/20/2012. To check out other Zelda awesomeness, head to the official The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary homepage.
Ninja Madness
A Ninja themed set of 3 quickies available from the Indie Xbox Live Arcade.
Ninja Stole My Bike
Ugh. This game is such trash. I won’t go into much detail about the gameplay, because there really isn’t much. Take an impossible game and make it more boring and then you have Ninja Stole My Bike. They took a genre of game where all you really do is press one button and found a way to make it less interesting. There are two redeeming qualities to this game however. For starters, it only costs 80 MSP, which is most likely more than what it cost to make the game. The other, which is probably already obvious to fans of YTMND.com, is the games namesake. Basically, your playing the cut scene from Punch-Out!! But instead of an up and coming boxer chasing a fat black man on a bike, you’re a pizza delivery boy chasing a ninja. So aside from the little chuckle I got from the connection to an overtly racist internet meme, this game is only worth it for those who have a major crush on these types of games and have played every other one in existence.
Developer: NinthDimensional
Released: 02/10/2011
Ninja Sneaking
Has that annoying chibi style of art, but that’s really the only negative thing I have to say about this game. It’s honestly pretty good for what it is. It’s a weird hybrid of a side-scrolling action platformer and stealth game, with a little bit of impossible game thrown in. Think if Solid Snake was storming Dr. Wily’s castle. The game has a much quicker pace than any Metal Gear though; you won’t be sitting there for more then a few seconds waiting for an enemy to turn away. You’re given two basic instructions at the onset of the game: Don’t be seen, and don’t murder anyone. The don’t be seen part was a given, I was expecting that considering the title and all. But the second part – no killing?! You’re a ninja and ninjas use swords and a swords sole purpose is to kill. Instead your sword is relegated to a glorified door slasher. The music’s not so bad either. I set my standards low for indie games, so I won’t say it’s good, but it’s catchy and goes with the pace of the game pretty well. This one’s also only 80 MSP and you could do much worse with a dollar.
Developer: Winglay
Released: 08/27/2011
Akane the Kunoichi
Kunoichi = female ninja
Definitely the most visually appealing of the three games reviewed. The 16-bit art style took me right back to the days of the SNES, with bright and vibrant sprite animations and backgrounds. This is a straight up action platformer. Akane performs as you would expect a ninja to – doing wall jumps, throwing projectiles at enemy ninjas, and harnessing her potent ninja magic. Although, the whole stealth aspect of being a ninja is thrown at the window. It kind of reminded me of Shinobi, but far more colorful, like if Nintendo had made Shinobi instead of Sega. The only real complaint I have is the noise she makes EVERY TIME you jump. I could really do without that, or at least some variety in effects. That aside, it was a pretty solid game. Controlled well, aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, and a halfway decent soundtrack. I’m not a particularly big fan of platformers, so for that to be my only gripe shows that there was a good degree of effort put into developing this title. At only 80 MSP, it’s definitely worth the dollar.
Developer: Haruneko
Released: 05/28/2011
Since this is my top pick of the three, it deserves a video.
Don’t forget to share this post!
Thanks for reading!
By the way, if you’re still wondering about where Ninja Stole My Bike go its inspiration, GO HERE. But I warn you, it IS racist.
gameblorg 